Chapter 966: Chapter 508: That Beam of Light Tearing Through the Darkness
When leaving Starry Sky City, Rod felt somewhat reluctant.
Although his stay here was brief, it felt as though a long time had passed, a transformation so vast that he was no longer the person he was when he first arrived.
This metamorphosis was unprecedented, as he grew here not only in strength.
Reflecting back now, he realized that he was just a child before, making minor achievements under the shelter of towering trees.
Now, he was about to become a towering tree himself. While not the largest, he could stand alone.
The perfect completion of the task to cleanse Starry Sky City was the best proof.
It brought unimaginable benefits to Trolian, with many scholars praising it as laying a solid foundation for humanity’s ascent.
Thus, when Rod set foot in the Royal City, what greeted him was an unprecedentedly grand welcome ceremony.
All the Floating Spiritual Power Carriages in the Royal City rose into the sky to escort him, every church bell rang for him, and the Holy Fire Sacrificial Ground opened its dome, golden holy fire lighting up the entire Royal City, visible from any corner.
When the carriage carrying Rod landed in the grand square of the Upper City, the cheering was like a tsunami engulfing him.
The welcoming crowd instantly got out of control, surging towards him like waves.
"Hero, our hero has returned!"
"He’s so young, just like the legends!"
"Lord Luo Weiya of the Fire Son was right, we are on a path of rising!"
"...I really want to have his children!"
"Pah, shameless old man, haven’t you seen how old you are? Lord Rod is mine!"
"No! Lord Rod is mine!"
"All of you stop dreaming, Rod has long since been the companion of Lord Qingyu."
"Nonsense!"
"Beat up this rumor-monger!"
The crowd became chaotic, with shouting and cursing mixing into a frenzy, while a little further away, on the roof of a luxurious castle-shaped building, seven people quietly overlooked everything.
"Is this the boy everyone’s been talking about as if he’s a legend?"
An elder watched the scene before him with great interest.
He was tall, with a face covered in numerous wrinkles but appeared to be in good spirits, dressed in a gold and white long robe adorned with red flame patterns, with a burning crown emblem at the collar.
This was the final form of the Fire Mark—the "Fire Crown."
The strongest blessing that only a Fire Son could possess.
And around him were people dressed in the same attire, all bearing the Fire Crown insignia.
A burly middle-aged man laughed, "Indeed, he is Rod, the catalyst of human transformation I spoke of. He is a crucial symbol of our journey from the depths towards revival."
"Luo Weiya,"
An even brawnier man frowned, "I still think your theory is too idealistic. The descent has no bottom; our prosperity might be just an illusion, beneath which deeper crises are hidden."
"Like undercurrents beneath the sea, if we are not cautious, our ship sailing on the dark sea could capsize, just as the Starry Queen said before she faded, a great shadow lies ahead of us, and disaster might be waiting."
Luo Weiya raised an eyebrow, a look of irritation appearing on his square face.
"Jelaba, why do you always oppose me? Isn’t Trolian’s revival and strength visible to the naked eye? Isn’t it true that geniuses are constantly emerging from our new generation? Haven’t we achieved victories unseen in a millennium? Doesn’t all of this indicate that the flame is reviving, and humanity’s fortune has arrived?"
"Yes..."
A woman with a head full of grey hair said thoughtfully, "Talents that appear once a century, once a millennium, suddenly seem to be gathering in our era. Although the external environment was harsh in recent years, it truly has the makings of a revival in the new generation."
She turned her head, a slight smile gracing her lips, her smile displaying without reservation the marks left by the years.
"Look, isn’t our little Misha proof of this?"
A girl so young it seemed excessive shrank her neck, her tea-colored hair and golden eyes making her exceptionally beautiful, yet her petite stature gave her a very fragile appearance.
"Don’t say that, Sister Peibela. I always felt I’m not the strongest talent... So many are stronger than me, like that Rod, isn’t he?"
Grey-haired Peibela showed a gentle, loving smile: "What is our little Thunder King saying? He is still a Guardian, and you have already become a Fire Son. As long as you keep your spirit stable like today, you will no longer have to rely on the True Silver Ring of the Silver Oath to move freely."
"It’s not just her!" Luo Weiya emphasized: "I believe that it won’t take a few years, and Rod will also take the Ashen Throne, becoming the first person from the Starfire Series to become a Fire Son."
"Such a thing, if it were in the past, we wouldn’t even dare to imagine, but now, it’s not an isolated case. Undefeated Jessica, Great Sword Tai Luo, the golden shining Valkyrie, and the undefeated Dawn Female War Goddess, Talia’s star of tomorrow, and New Shima’s star of hope, and Brittania’s Annie, the brilliance of Fei Xue, aren’t they all such miraculous figures?"